Indiana University Central Heating Plant

Indiana University's Central Heating Plant, which heats 110 buildings, began in 1955 with two coal-fired burners, added two more boilers in 1960, a fifth in 1965 and a sixth in 1970. In the 1990s, two boilers were converted to natural gas.

The Bloomington Herald Times reported that emissions at the plant were as follows in 2005:
 * 1,331 tons of sulfur dioxide.
 * 385 tons of nitrogen oxides.
 * 76 tons of fine particulate matter, or soot.
 * Almost two tons of volatile organic compounds.

The 68,000 yearly tons of coal used at the plant is mined by Peabody Energy, which trucks the fly ash from the plant back to mine sites. In 2005, at the prompting of the state legislature, IU studied outsourcing the heating operation but rejected the idea as more expensive than retaining the coal-fired plant. The university also concluded that switching to natural gas would increase fuel costs by $12 million to $15 million a year.

In 2007 the university undertook at $34 million project to replace two 1950s-era coal boilers with natural gas, and to add scrubbing technology (lime and activated carbon injection) that would sulfur dioxide emissions by 45% and mercury emissions by 50%. According to university officials, the project would meet the requirements of MACT.

A university website describes the IU coal plant as follows: "The coal plant at the Indiana University Bloomington campus burns 60,000 tons of coal each year. It is all stoker-grade Indiana coal with moderate sulfur content burned at 11,200 Btu per pound. The plant generates steam for heating, cooling, and processes, such as cooking or for research uses."

In 2007, IU’s campus emitted 418,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. About 40 percent, or 167,200 metric tons, of that came from the heating plant. Coal is trucked to the plant from local mines, most within an hour’s drive.

IU is currently researching ways to absorb its CO2 emissions with algae.

Related SourceWatch articles

 * Campus coal plants
 * Existing U.S. Coal Plants
 * Opposition to existing coal plants
 * Coal
 * Coal and jobs
 * Coal-fired power plant capacity and generation
 * Coal phase-out
 * Coal plant conversion projects
 * Coal plants near residential areas

External resources

 * Anne C. Mulkern, "Colleges Are Battlegrounds for Coal Fight," Greenwire, October 14, 2009.
 * Campuses Beyond Coal Campaign, Sierra Club, September 2009.
 * "DOE Announces Winners of Annual University Coal Research Grants," July 7, 2005.
 * American College & University Presidents Climate Commitment